what to eat

Yangza Soup
 Yangza Soup is quite a popular snack in Shanxi for its strong flavor. 'Yangza' is the entrails of a sheep. The clean dressed entrails are stewed and cut into slices, then again stewed with shallot, chilli, salt and other flavorings. That is the Yangza Soup. Some vermicelli made of Chinese yam flour is usually added into the soup. From the view of Chinese medicine, entrails of sheep have the function of warming the stomach and fending off chill. Thus, the steaming Yangza Soup with chewy vermicelli may be quite a good dish in winter for its medical function as well as the strong fragranc

Pea Noodles
There are hundreds of kinds of noodles in Shanxi province. Each of these noodles was cooked by a special method with a unique flavor, name and taste. Pea noodles in Datong of Shanxi province is one of the popular and famous noodles. Pea noodles need wheat flour and You flour(a kind of flour) to knead the dough, then roll the dough with a rolling pins or flatten the dough with a press of the hand or slice the dough with sharp kitchen knife. These different methods make different shapes of noodles including Boyuer noodles, Min noodles and so on. After the noodles drain from the boil water, add the Master stock or minced meat Master stock which is made up of eggs, Bean curd shin, Lily flower and agarics. Pea noodles are very delicious and tasty. So do not miss it, when you travel in Datong city.   

Yellow Cake
Yellow cake is a kind of local food which is popular in the south of Hebei province and Datong city of Shanxi province. Some local people even take yellow cake as their lunch in their daily life. The main ingredient of yellow cake is broomcorn millet flour. Well, actually, there are two kinds of yellow cake in Datong city. One is fried yellow cake, the other is steamed yellow cake. And Fried yellow cake is cooked on the based of steamed yellow cake. When the steamed yellow cakes are steamed, put them out, and fry them with cooking oil after it becomes completely cold. Steamed yellow cake is light yellow, soft and tasty. Fried yellow cake is dark yellow, crisp and of course, delicious.

what to buy

Egg Carving
As its name implies, egg carving means carving on the thin and fragile egg. The similar handicrafts may be common seen in western countries during the Easter Day. However, Datong egg carving is much different from those in western country for its Chinese style content. Things on Chinese art like Chinese Calligraphy, Facial Painting and Chinese Painting are carved on the egg shells. With well design on the composition and delicate result of carving, the Datong egg carving boasts pretty high artistic value.

Art Porcelain of Datong
Datong has a history of producing porcelain for more than 1400 years. Anecdotal reports indicate the porcelain manufacturing in Datong prevailed in Tang dynasty. And in Song dynasty the "Porcelain Mine" was used in military affairs. Now porcelain factories are prevalent in Datong. There are art cups, dishwares, bowels, figures of Buddha, toys and so on. These art porcelains are good in quality, beautiful in shape and novelty in design. Mei Yu Kou Coal and Porcelain Factory is especially famous for porcelains. It produces figures in traditional Chinese legend such as animals, people and fairies. These art porcelains sell far to European, America, Japan and South Asia.

Yun Gang Juan Ren
Juan Ren is dolls wearing all sorts of silk clothes. Datong already has the custom of making silk dolls from Qing dynasty. It is a kind of proud skill for girls or women. The Juan Ren artists in Datong develop traditional craftworks and combine the art and dolls together. By this way they have tailored vivid drama roles. Many famous characters in legend or theaters and stories which won universal praise are embodied in Juan Ren. Yun Gang Juan Ren is an agent of spreading Chinese art and culture. The most famous handicraftsman named Kang Qiaoling is an old folk artist. She has made more than 300 hundred characters at the theme of Yungang Grotto and Shanhua Monastery, etc in Datong. The lively sculpting and flamboyant tint craftworks with vivid scenario from well-known legend are very popular in country and also in other countries such as America, France and Switzerland, etc.

what to do in the evening

Yongtai Hangkong Square
It was said Yongtai Hangkong Square is the biggest in Datong, It is the first completed in year 2005. It is the first commonweal and national defence project in China. This square is composed of a lie fallow square, the state" concernful civil air defence project and a greatness shopping mall under ground. Yongtai Hangkong square covering 100000 square meters having green land of 45000 square meters. The recreational square on ground is divided into five sections: center square, music square, sunken square, garden square, and fountain waterfall. People like to watch the colorful music fountain at night and have a strolling in the square after dinner.

Having Rabbit Heads as Snacks at Night
Gnawing at rabbit head is a common scene in Datong. Nibbling rabbit heads is a popular recreation at night especially in summer time. Having rabbit head people can go to a street which is full of rabbit head restaurants. No matter gentle and quiet ladies or great -hearted men, they are all enjoyed in this gnawing project. Having rabbit at night is far more interesting than in day time. Some restaurant set up eats in the open air for snacks. People can take rabbit head in the open air too. Series of breeze go through your face and your whole body and bring you the breath from nature world.

weather

Datong sits at the top of Shanxi Province. Datong has a warm continental monsoon climate. Influenced by monsoon it experiences four distinct seasons (spring, summer, autumn, winter). Winter of Datong is long, cold and dry; summer is short, hot and rainy; spring and fall in Datong is cool, but with big difference in temperature.
In spring the temperature of Datong rises up quickly and average temperature is 6.5°C to 9.1°C. After suddenly getting warmer, it always turns cold again. That is the features of Datong weather in spring. Besides, in winter there is little rain and there is much gale. The spring of Datong often flies with snow, but easy to thaw.
Summer of Datong has temperate climate and average temperature is 19°C to 21.8°C. Rain fall of Datong is concentrated in summer which is 64.3% of the whole year. Summer of Datong is a season with a variety of color instead of spring.
Fall comes, and the temperature goes down gradually. The sky of autumn is clear and sunny. Datong frost weather appears in the last ten days of September.
Winter is long compared to the other three seasons in Datong. It reaches to more than 4 months. In winter northwest wind prevails in Datong. Average temperature is from -12.8°C to 6.3°C. The colds month is January with average temperature of -11.3°C.

The best time to Datong is summer and fall (from June to November).
Datong Location: 39°03'~40°44' North Latitude
112°34'~114°33' East Longitude